Navigational sounding-machine.



W. THOMSON.-

NAVIGATIONAL SOUNDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 3. 1908.

Pa-tented June 1, 1909.

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w. THOMSON. NAVIGATIONAL SOUNDIHG MAGHINE.

A IfPLIOATION FILED APR. 3, 1908. j 923,384, Patented June 1, 1909.

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UNITED NAVIGATIONAL SOUNDING-IVIAGHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Eatented June 1, 1909.

Application filed April 3, 1908. Serial No. 25,911.

0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM THOMSON, Baron Kelvin, of Largs, Scotland,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Connected withNavigational Sounding Machines, Especially for Flying Soundings, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in and connected withnavigational sounding machines especially for flying soundings, andrelates more especially to the means of taking the soundings by the aidof a spar or boom.

In order that my invention may be properly understood and readilycarried into efiect, I have hereunto appended two sheets of drawings, ofwhich- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a ships spar deck showing themethod of taking soundings by the aid of a spar or boom. Fig. 2 is aside elevation drawn to an enlarged scale of a carrier or traveler and aleading block and pulley. Fig. 3 is an end view of the carrier and blockpartly in section all hereafter more fully described and referred to.

In carrying out my invention, when soundings are to be taken fromamidships or from the fore-bridge, as at present practiced in H. M. navyby aid of a boom about 30 feet long, held by guys and a topping lift ina horizontal position perpendicular to the ships side, I provide aspecial traveler t, Fig. 2, which carries a leading block on an improvedplan, and which is controlled by out-haul and inhaul ropes, and fromsaid traveler by a suitable bracket depends a pulley over which passesthe sounding wire.

The boom may be conveniently of about 5 inches diameter at its middle,and be tapered toward the ends. The traveler t is an iron sleeve ofdiameter somewhat greater than the greatest diameter of the boom to, andof length about two and a half times this diameter. The ends of thistube are stiffened with an interior iron ring 19 which is covered withgreased leather t preferably by lacing as shown. This arrangement allowsonly the leather to come in contact with the boom, and the length of thetube is a perfect safeguard against jamming, when the traveler is movedby the out-haul a or the in-haul a The frame or shell of the leadingblock 0) is pivoted about an aXis y, y, supported or carried in thebearings terminating the bracket or frame i The said axis is perpendicular to the axis of the ulley w. The pivots are mounted on a bracrot or frame as aforesaid, which is fixed to the traveler abovedescribed, with their axis parallel to the boom. Thus the block is freeto take any position, with the planeof the pulley inclined to thevertical but always passing through a horizontal line parallel to theboom. During egress, the wire enters the pulley w, horizontally,parallel to the boom, through a hole w in the shell, and leaves it by asecond hole w in the shell, along a line at right angles to the first.The pivoting of the shell allows the plane of the pulley always toadjust itself to the direction in which the wire runs out to the sea,thus avoiding a considerable amount of friction, and consequentuncertainty in the resistance against its egress, and also avoiding astill greater frictional resistance against the wire while being hauledin. hen being hauled in against heavy stress, the friction of the wire 1against the shell of the pulley w would be very severe upon the wire andwould require considerably greater force upon the handles of thesounding machine to haul it in, if the leading block were merely hung ona swivel and compelled to take its position by the pressure on the wireof the shell, instead of being suspended and balanced as in the mannerdescribedv above.

To allow the sounding wire g to be placed in the groove on the pulley w,and removed, as desired, a circumferential portion of the shell at itsupper side is hinged, as seen in Fig. 2, and by folding back thisportion, a sufficient part of the pulley is exposed to allow the placingon or removal of the wire. The hinged parts are locked together andunlocked by the insertion and withdrawal of a retaining pin o into andfrom the eyes 12 formed in the lugs o Suitable oil cups or receptacles xand m are mounted on one side of the shell immediately over the pivotson which the pulley turns.

Claims.

1. In a navigational sounding machine, the combination with a boom, of atraveler slidable along the boom, a leading block allel to the boom, anda pulley for supporting the sounding Wire said pulley being ro- 1opivotally mounted on the traveler, and a tatably mounted in the leadingblock upon pulley rotatably mounted in the leading block. an aXistransverse to the boom.

2. In a navigational sounding machine, In Witness whereof I havehereunto set the combination With a boom, of a traveler my hand in thepresence of two Witnesses mounted to slide longitudinally along theWILLIAJWI THOMSON. boom, a leading block pivotally mounted on thetraveler on an axis substantially par- Witnesses JOHN LIDDLE, JOHN T.LIDDLE.

